Tip leads to arrest of bank robbery suspect

San Diego  A Crime Stoppers tip led to the arrest of a man accused of robbing four San Diego banks, the FBI said.

Ronald Anthony Timberland, 50, of San Diego, was taken into custody Tuesday night in south San Diego. He was arrested by San Diego police robbery detectives at a motel on Outer Road, near Coronado Avenue, FBI Special Agent Darrell Foxworth said Friday.

The tip came a day after the FBI released surveillance photos of a balding, bespectacled man who robbed a Wells Fargo Bank on Monday at Fourth Avenue and B Street in downtown San Diego. The tipster saw the photos on television and contacted Crime Stoppers.

A surveillance image of the bank robber at Wells Fargo on B Street. / FBI

+Read Caption

A surveillance image of the bank robber at Wells Fargo on B Street. / FBI

The thief put the money in a plastic red and white Target shopping bag. He threatened to hurt the teller if he wasn’t given cash.

Timberland was booked into the San Diego central jail on Thursday on charges that he also robbed three US Banks since July 25, one on El Cajon Boulevard, one on Saturn Boulevard and one on Dennery Road.

According to the jail website, he is also charged with violation of parole and possession of a controlled substance for sale.

He is expected to be arraigned Tuesday in San Diego Superior Court.

Anyone with information about the robberies is asked to call the FBI at (858) 320-1800, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at (888) 540-8477.